Ka Twang!
by Tifa Tyndal
Summary: It was two months since Hatsuharu had gone missing....


**Ka-Twang!**

**A fanfiction by Tifa Tyndal**

**Summery:**It was two months since Hatsuharu had gone missing….

**Disclaimer:** Sopping wet she stepped into the room. Resignedly she looked at the author of Fruits Basket, "When I told them that _I_ owned them they got really mad. Said something about getting enough of it with Akito." She reached into her pocket and tossed the author a set of keys. "I locked them up in the utility closet… they're all yours." And with that the girl left, leaving an extensive disclaimer behind.

**Spoiler Warning:** Only for Hatsuharu (but none for the horse or rooster).

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It was two months after Hatsuharu went missing when Tohru received the scare of her life. She was hanging up the wet laundry one Saturday afternoon when it happened. The Sohma house had been in somewhat of an uproar since Haru had gone missing and Tohru couldn't say she was doing much better. It was hard to have a friend go missing.

The first few days after Haru's disappearance no one worried much. He was famous for getting lost and at times it took him days to make it to the market and back, that is, if he ever made it to the market in the first place. Thus, it came to be expected that he would just show up after a few days. Well, when a few days turned into a week they began to wonder. First, they sent out search parities to the surrounding areas but when they found nothing after a week of exhausting every resource the Sohma family had, they alerted the police. There really wasn't anything else to do.

Thus the waiting began. Almost everyone seemed restless. They knew it couldn't be a kidnapping because that would anger Haru, thus turn him black. There was full confidence that once Hatsuharu turned black; he could take care of himself. It was hard to believe that he just left, the curse would make that hard. Once by one they sought out the possibilities until none seemed left.

Tohru helped in her own manner. Despite the Sohma uproar she managed to keep Shigure's house running smoothly and steadily. Mealtimes didn't change, the house was still clean and they continued to have clean clothes appear in their closets. The aura of the house still contained Tohru's sweet smile and nature. So much was the peace in that house that, matter of fact, many Zodiac members used the place as a sort of "escape" from the uproarious stare the main compound was in. Already Kisa had visited four times, three with Hiro in tow, Momiji came any chance he got and even Hatori visited when he could.

Nevertheless, this Saturday no extra Sohma's were scheduled to show up. Tohru was hanging one of Kyo's wet black shirts when she felt hands wrap around her from behind. She started and turned to find herself pulled into a half-glomp, half-embrace by none other than the missing Haru, and if that wasn't enough of a shock the customary "poof!" in which Haru would turn into a cow was ominously absent.

"H-haru?" Tohru's eyes grew wide as she stared at the boy in question. "What's—how-"

"Hn," Haru cut her rambling off thoughtfully. "So I was right."

"But-but-but!" Tohru's head spun as she felt herself swoon. Unconsciously, she leaned into Hatsuharu for support, which he offered absentmindedly. "How-?" was the last thing Tohru got out before she collapsed into a faint.

When Tohru awoke she came downstairs to an awkwardly quiet room. Shigure sat comfortably and drank tea while Yuki just stared in wonder at Haru who was staring into space, a blank expression on his face. Kyo leant against a nearby wall, trying to act like he didn't care.

"Ah, you're up," Shigure noted as Tohru somewhat light-headedly entered.

"Uhm, yes," Tohru whispered as if speaking would break more than the eerie silence. "Did Hatsuharu bring me to bed?"

Shigure nodded then turned his attention to the black and white haired lad across from him. "Speaking of which, Hatsuharu, you haven't said more than 'She fainted' since you came in. What happened out there? I already called Sohma house so you might as well spill."

Haru cocked his head as if remembering something then settled down as if to tell a long story but his words were surprisingly few, "I got lost."

"For two months?" Yuki questioned, finally exasperated.

"Well I was going to pick up a new school uniform because apparently they don't let you rip out the sleeves when I suddenly ended up in a strange town."

"You got lost," Kyo interpreted, annoyed.

Haru only nodded mellowly before continuing in his storyteller voice. "I somehow ended up at an airport and this lady seemed in a rush to get me on an airplane so I went on one."

"How'd you get past security?" Kyo burst out in a yell.

"Security?" Haru didn't seem familiar with the word.

"Yeah, they would have noticed you!" Kyo bit out.

Haru blinked. "They didn't."

"Are you sure you didn't turn black on them?" Kyo eyed him warily.

Haru put a finger to his chin, as he thought, "No."

"Why'd you have to think about it?" Kyo glared.

"Much as I hate to admit it; Kyo has a point," Shigure commented sipping his tea. "I'm surprised they didn't stop you. Security is pretty high these days."

Hatsuharu just shrugged, dismissing the factor. "Anyway, once on the place they announced that it was going to take off soon so I figured that I better leave. So I went where the exit was but it had moved and the surroundings had changed into a likeness of such I was not familiar with."

"You got lost on the plane?" Kyo exclaimed incredulously.

Haru ignored him that time and just continued. He didn't get much of a chance to tell stories but he really enjoyed it. "So, when I finally made my way to the exit I was able to get out of the plane. The airport looked a little different but you see I have a bad memory so it didn't bother me. I began my trek but I couldn't seem to locate any familiar surroundings. And everyone spoke this strange language I didn't understand, maybe English. That's when it happened."

"What happened?" Yuki prompted him. He had seen Haru walk in carrying Tohru yet not transforming and he was eager to know why or how.

"The curse broke," Haru confirmed everyone's suspicions. "It was kinda like a 'Ka-Twang!' and then it was gone." Haru held out his hands facing each other in front of himself as if trying to demonstrate what it was like.

"What did it?" Yuki and Kyo both said at once. Tohru, who had been hanging on to every word Haru said, also looked desperately at the former cow.

Hatsuharu only shrugged, unfazed.

Shigure was the next to speak as he leaned back slightly from the table, barely containing his own excitement with a lazy grin. "It appears that Hatsuharu made it all the way to America and the distance put between himself, Akito, and the rest of the Zodiac broke the curse. Like a string pulled too tightly, it snapped."

Haru nodded, "That's what it was like, Ka-Twang."

"Sure it wasn't a 'boing'?" Kyo said sarcastically. "Or a snap?"

Haru shook his head, oblivious to the sarcasm, "No, it was definitely a Ka-Twang."

"Well, now that we've got that cleared up," Shigure said, seemingly unfazed by the realization that, yes, the curse could be broken. "How did you get back, Haru?"

"Funny you should ask," Haru placed a single finger to his cheek, as if thinking. "I was lost in the ravenous jungle that threatened to eat me alive when I saw a boat. 'To sea! To sea!' my soul cried as I stumbled onto it's hallow deck."

"Why don't you just say you were lost so you accidentally boarded a ship?" Kyo once again impatiently interrupted Haru's words.

And once again, Haru ignored him. "I grew famished and weak so I searched for what nourishment I could gather. On my way to the dining hall a cruel trick was played and I lost my way. The smell of cooking food led me to the kitchens where I ate my fill before falling into a deep slum-"

"Cut to the chase!" Kyo interrupted again. "So you got lost on a boat, it shouldn't have taken you two months to get back!"

"I think what Kyo is trying to ask if whether you stayed on the ship all the way back to Japan," Shigure translated.

"No," Haru replied. "The ship sank."

"It sank!" This time it was Yuki who exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah," Haru confirmed. "The captain was a pest so I turned black and things got ugly."

"You sank the ship?" Kyo looked wide eyed at his cousin.

Haru moved his head to pop his neck. "Yep. Everyone escaped on lifeboats though; we had enough. Later some navy picked us up. They took us to this base-like place to stay until they could take us back but everything looked the same there and somehow I ended up in a monastery."

Yuki began to get a little nervous. "A monastery?" Haru probably wouldn't do well with a bunch of monks; they wouldn't like him at all.

"Yeah, they were pretty cool," Haru remarked scratching the back of his head. "Didn't like my hair though."

"You didn't turn black, did you?" Yuki asked anxiously.

"Nope," Haru said and Yuki let out a sigh of relief. "When I told them it was my natural color they calmed down but looked at me strangely and muttered about 'odd Japanese people'. Anyway, they said they could help me get back to Japan."

"How did they understand you—how did you understand them?" Shigure asked, curious.

"A mystery," Haru trailed off. "Good thing Momiji taught me German though." He said almost as an afterthought.

"Well, that explains it, you were in Germany," Shigure declared loudly.

Hatsuharu nodded.

"What happened next?" Tohru suddenly inquired. She had been silently listening with all she could but now was prompting for more. It was obvious she loved stories.

"Well, they stuck me on a plane and saw me off but unfortunately the plane only made it to India before I had to transfer flights. Due to several unfortunate circumstances I was unable to board the correct flight."

There was a collective gulp. No one wanted to know what these 'unfortunate circumstances' were.

"Anyway, that's when something strange happened…." Haru continued.

Haru's audience glanced at each other. None of the other happenings were 'strange'?

Hatsuharu blinked and continued. "I boarded the next boat to Japan and made it here in record time."

"And you didn't think to call once during this whole escapade?" Hatori had entered during the last part of Haru's story so had gotten the general gist of it. Several other Zodiac members crowded behind him.

Hatsuharu shrugged, "I couldn't find a phone." He paused before finishing his story. "Anyway, I came straight here to test my theory."

"Really?" Momiji asked, popping out from behind Hatori. "What theory?"

"That my curse was broken," Haru explained as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Really?" This time it was timid Kisa who spoke.

Haru nodded, suddenly softer at Kisa's appearance. "Yep. Apparently I got far enough away that it just broke, Ka-Twang!"

"Count on Haru to break the curse by accident," Hiro, who was also there, scoffed.

"Tha-that's wonderful, Hatsuharu!" Tohru smiled hugely and pulled Haru into a sweet hug.

Haru absentmindedly gave a soft smile and patted Tohru's back awkwardly. He wasn't used to getting hugged by a girl and not transforming. He didn't notice the jealous glares he was getting from a few of the male Zodiac.

"Hatsuharu, I think you better come back to the main house now," Hatori suddenly said as Tohru released the former Zodiac member.

Haru paused a moment before saying, "No, I don't think I will."

It was as if everything suddenly fell into place at Haru's refusal. All the Zodiac members suddenly realized what this meant. It was confirmed when Hatori said, "It's your choice. It's not like anyone can force you to come."

And suddenly all Haru's travels were worth finding this piece of information: they could be free.

They really could. Just like that.

So, the Sohma family lived happily ever after, running up some frequent flier miles before settling down.

Ka-Twang!

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The End

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There ya go! Sorry I haven't posted anything lately certain things (cough)gotmywisdomteethremoved(cough) mixed with a busy life have impaired me from writing these and/or updating. But never fear! I do hope to get more Fruits Basket up sometime in the near future. I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you for reading! -The Author


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